Director: David Brooks | Genre: Horror / Thriller | Runtime: 90min.
When a group of friends/co-workers head for the ATM, they quickly realise it was the wrong thing to do - it turns out a homicidal maniac is stalking there every move, effectively leaving the trio stuck with nowhere to go.
Most of us have been to an ATM and been disheartened with the considerably low amount of funds in our accounts, but it would be a good guess you haven't been trapped inside a kiosk with a creepy guy on the outside playing on your fears and emotions.
This movie is exactly that, but fails to deliver any genuine thrills or horror - you might remember Josh Peck from Drake and Josh, well now he's playing the role of Corey Thompson, a lazy and unreliable friend of David Hargrove (Brian Geraghty), who was originally planning on driving fellow colleague Emily Brandt (Alice Eve) home with possibly the chance of a nightcap.
However, Corey drags himself along, effectively ruining Brian and Emily's night - Corey needs cash so the group visit a nearby ATM, but when they decide to leave, a mysterious figure is waiting outside starting at them. From here on, the group must determine what this guy wants, perhaps he's a robber or a menacing killer who violently murders innocent people. We all know the answer.
Practically all of the movie is set within the ATM kiosk and the surrounding car park, which is fine if the locations were used effectively - instead we are given this predictable series of events with little imagination. This type of movie should encourage plot twists or at least a mildly interesting narrative to keep us entertained - after all, we're staring at the same surroundings for the most part, at least give us a reason to keep on watching.
Not knowing anything about the killer is absolutely fine, but only for a certain amount of time - this movie tells us practically nothing about him. It's understandable that he should remain mysterious but without even a little backstory, it's difficult to really engage with what's going on.
And it's a shame because the concept is great - that sense of isolation even when in a group, knowing that any move you make could put your life at risk, but the screenplay is lazy and poorly executed. Overall, it's not advised to waste your time on ATM - there are many more horror/thrillers out there that are genuinlely clever, unique and original, this movie is none of them.
2/10
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